Modeling of Audiofrequency Track Circuits for Validation, Tuning, and Conducted Interference Prediction

The modeling of track circuit (TC) signaling systems is considered to be a valuable tool for their validation ( check of operation for exceptional and extreme network conditions and configurations), compatibility assessment ( with respect to sources of conducted interference), and pretuning ( before on-site tuning). The model can replace a series of preliminary measurements and speed up the on-site tuning procedure. The results of model verification and validation on the Torino-Novara trunk of the Italian High Speed Railway Line are presented. The accuracy and reliability are quite good from an absolute viewpoint and are compared with the traditional on-site TC tuning; the time saving is of an order of magnitude.